Claire Patricia Cipriano

Claire Patricia Cipriano died on Thursday, November 14, 2013, at the age of 93. One of two children, she was born March 9, 1920, to Margaret Twohey Croak and Patrick Henry Croak in Livermore, CA. She attended the proverbial one-room schoolhouse in Livermore, commuting from the family ranch with her brother on the family horse, and then graduated from Livermore High School at the age of 16. In 1940, she earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Names in Oakland, CA, and went to work as a secretary in San Francisco, where in 1945 she met and married Ernie Cipriano, who was in the Navy at the time. After a couple of years in the Bay Area, she and Ernie sought greener pastures in Southern California, settling their family first in Encino and later in Tarzana.

Claire faced more than her fair share of challenges in life, starting with losing her mother when she was not yet two and then her father when she was nineteen. She battled polio in 1952, but she never let such things handicap her. While raising seven children (often on her own since Ernie traveled frequently for work), Claire was active in her church and volunteered as a literacy coach at Our Lady of Grace School in Encino. After her children were out of school, she worked as bookkeeper and office manager for Dolores Restaurant. Later, she volunteered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program at Goebels Senior Center. In April, 2000, she was honored by Holy Names University with its Alumni Award for Outstanding Service to her Community.

Both Claire and Ernie loved to travel and were fortunate to see many parts of the world, first as part of Ernie’s work and later after both retired. But Claire’s heart was always at home with her family. A gentle, loving person with a warm smile, Claire was ever ready to listen, to support, to help. She was beloved by all who knew her. She loved to read, to sew, to paint, and to garden. She enjoyed Girls Night Out, playing cards with her daughters.

Claire is survived by Ernie, her husband of 68 years, and six of their seven children: Patricia; Jerry and his wife Renata; Barbara and her husband Steve Yundt; Bill and his wife Terri; Eileen; and Cathleen and her husband Ray Mogg as well as her brother Fran Croak. Her son Bob predeceased her. Claire also leaves behind nine grandchildren: Matthew Yundt; Bob’s sons Cody and Casey; Bill’s sons James, Tony, Michael, and Dan; and Nicole and Morgan Mogg.

A Funeral Mass in celebration of Claire’s life will be held on Friday, November 22, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, Thousand Oaks; burial will follow at Assumption Catholic Cemetery, Simi Valley, CA.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Salk Institute (http://www.salk.edu) or the American Cancer Society in her loving memory.

Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Mortuary, Westlake, CA (805)487-4911. Please sign the guest book at obits.VenturaCountyStar.com.